San Pedro’s Nick Zabatta stands out at Ultimate 100 football camp

Nick Zabatta, of San Pedro center, plays defense as he places himself between two receivers during a play at a high-school football camp for elite prospects from seventh grade up to juniors in high school in Huntington Beach, CA. Saturday June 21, 2014. (Thomas R. Cordova-Daily Breeze/Press-Telegram)

Eugene Williams, of Los Angeles, gets up high at a attempts for a catch at a high-school football camp for elite prospects from seventh grade up to juniors in high school in Huntington Beach, CA. Saturday June 21, 2014. (Thomas R. Cordova-Daily Breeze/Press-Telegram)

Nick Zabatta is three years away from college, but the soon-to-be sophomore at San Pedro High School already has a list of universities in mind: Cal, San Diego State, UCLA, USC and Arizona State.

He is hoping performances like the one he had this past weekend at the Schuman National Underclassmen Combines (NUC) West Region Ultimate 100 camp will get his name on the recruiting lists of some of those schools.

The NUC camp, which was held at Huntington Beach High School on Saturday and Sunday, is an invitation-only camp featuring prospects from the western United States, ranging from athletes who just finished sixth grade to those who are entering their senior years of high school.

About 50 prospects from the Los Angeles area participated in the camps, including Zabatta, whose performance Saturday against seventh-, eighth- and ninth-graders earned him an invitation back to camp for the second day to compete against sophomores and juniors.

At 6-foot-2, Zabatta towered over most of his teammates. He is on track to become a frequent flyer at NUC camps. This past weekend was his second such experience this year. He was named the MVP of the linebackers group Saturday and took also reps at wide receiver during seven-on-seven scrimmages.

His position award means it is likely he will be invited to more NUC camps, including the Top Prospect and All-Star camps, which could further enhance his recruiting stock in high school.

“I worked hard in the offseason to get here and I worked hard during the season as well,” Zabatta said. “But I knew that I would have to work hard at the camp and I couldn’t overlook anything. I hope to get my name out there, and hopefully Division I scouts will know who I am and maybe come to a couple of our games this season.”

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Of the athletes who have participated in the Ultimate 100 camps, 50 percent have gone on to play Division I football at the FBS or FCS level. Most campers at Huntington Beach had eyes for the FBS level, specifically Pacific-12 Conference schools. Participating in national football combines like the NUC’s gives some prospects a chance to get their names in the recruiting pool even before they start high school.

Darius Perrantes, a quarterback from Woodland Hills who will enter eighth grade this fall, has already chosen his dream school; he wants to be an Oregon Duck. The 13-year-old is drawn to Oregon for its flashy and fast-paced play and eye-catching uniforms. He participated in his first NUC camp Saturday and came away with some important lessons for his future in football.

“I learned to make better decisions and keep my head up after any bad ones,” Perrantes said. “Just coming out here, it felt good. It’s an opportunity to get out there and get better.”

Perrantes spent about half of his lunch break Saturday on the field, playing catch with his father, London. The pair has gone to a handful of other football camps, but London immediately saw something that set the NUC’s Ultimate 100 camps apart from others.

“One thing I notice about this camp is that the coaching is really good,” London said. “They’re dealing with the kids in individual position groups and coaching them one-on-one. Learning some new fundamentals and learning new things at each camp is a plus.”

Ricky Brown, who will start his senior year at Crenshaw High School this fall, has participated in several football camps this summer, hoping to pick up as many tips as he can. The receiver who grabbed his coach’s attention Sunday with great athleticism and soft hands recently transferred from Loyola High School and is using the football camps as a way to break into the college recruiting spotlight.

He wants to stay on the West Coast at a Pac-12 school, and if USC or UCLA come calling, he would surely answer. But he hasn’t gotten any offers yet.

Brown has seen many prospects come out of the Los Angeles area go to Division I schools, and he hopes his work in the NUC camp can help him become the next one.

“This is the hardest-working area,” Brown said of Los Angeles. “When you’re from L.A., people don’t think you’re good and you’re just coming out of the hood, so you have to go make a name for yourself.”